How To Restore Your Facebook Account If You Can't Get Into Your Old Email Address

Most of us have had our Facebook accounts for so long that we may not even know what email address we used to sign up, or if we do know the address, we may no longer have access to it. For example, if you opened your account with a work or college issued email address, you may have lost access to the one associated with your Facebook account post-graduation or after changing jobs. However, as long as your account is active and working properly, this probably never crosses your mind. That is, until something happens and when you need to restore it, your inability to get into your old email address suddenly becomes a big problem.

There could be any number of reasons you need to restore your account. You may have deactivated your Facebook page during a social media detox and want to get back on it to check in with friends and family after an extended break, or you've been hacked and need to change your login credentials. Whatever the case may be, if you can't restore your account, you could lose access to everything from important contacts to digital memories stored on the platform. If this has happened to you, there's no need to panic; there are ways to restore your Facebook account even if you can't access your old email address.

Facebook collects a lot of information when we open an account and periodically reminds us to update recovery information. You even have the option of adding your phone number or an alternate email to help Facebook connect you with friends and provide sign-in assistance if needed. If you opened your account years ago, you may not even remember what you entered. The good news is, if you added your phone number or an alternate email to your account, that could be key in helping you reset your password and regain access to the platform.

To restore your Facebook account with a phone number or an alternate email address:

1. Go to the Facebook login page.
2. Click or tap Forgotten Password.
3. Enter a phone number or your account's alternate email address.

Follow these steps if you don't know your alternate information:

1. Access Facebook using a device you previously used to log into your account.
2. Visit ​​facebook.com/login/identify to search for email addresses or phone numbers associated with your account. (Note that you'll need to be logged out of any Facebook accounts in order to see the correct page.)
3. If you have a Gmail account, tap or click Quickly Log in with your Google Account.
4. If you're using a non-Gmail account or phone number, tap or click Try Another Way.
5. Reset your password.

If none of the above options work, contact your email service provider to try to regain access to the account you used to sign up for Facebook.